Govt ignores NGOs while preparing UNGASS AIDS report in India

[Guest guest]

Govt ignores NGOs while preparing [uNGASS] AIDS report [india]

The Statesman, New Delhi

(September 17, 2005)

The Union Government [of India] may have initiated the process of preparing the

National AIDS report, various non-government organizations (NGOs) in the capital

[New Delhi], which are actively checking the spread of the disease, have neither

been consulted not contacted for providing any information which may be valuable

for drafting the report.

A recent survey has revealed that there are around 30 NGOs working for the cause

at the grass-roots level. However, when each one of them was contacted by The

Statesman to check whether they have been contacted by government for giving

their expertise on the subject, they replied in the negative.

Most of the NGOs in the capital also stated that they were not even aware that

the government was drafting a progress report on AIDS control and related

programmes to fulfil its obligation made while signing the Declaration of

Commitment at the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on

HIV/AIDS.

One of the NGOs also stated that even though UNAIDS [Joint United Nations

Programme on HIV/AIDS] executive director Mr Piot had requested the

government to involve NGOs in preparing the India UNGASS Progress Report on

HIV/AIDS, it was not complied with.

When the Director General of the National AIDS Control Organization, Dr YS

Quraishi, was asked why no NGOs had been included in preparation of the report,

he stated that they had sent a letter to HIV/AIDS Alliance India, to be included

in the programme. However when he was informed that the organization's director

Ms Anandi Yuvaraj had denied their involvement, he hastily added " We will invite

all civil society organizations by the middle of next week. "

Source: www.thestatesman.net

Piot letter to governments: http://www.hdnet.org/library/cover_letter.pdf

Cross posted:Break-the-silence (BTS)

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